


The re-education of Gavin Reed

by AtPK



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Convin, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2019-11-08 06:17:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17976038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtPK/pseuds/AtPK
Summary: Connor doesn't return to Cyberlife for deactivation after successfully completing his mission. Gavin is tasked with finding Connor and returning him to Cyberlife. But will he find Connor, and if he does will he want to hand him over?





	1. The night before

02:56

He rolled over on to his back and sighed, pulling the pillow over his head to block out the light from the little red numbers on the bedside clock.

_"Gavin, thank you for coming. Do you know why you're here today?”_

_"Why don't you tell me, doc.”_

_"Lieutenant Anderson has expressed some concerns about your hostility towards the android RK800, Connor."_

_"Is that right?"_

_She riffled through some files on her desk._

_"Yes, according to eyewitness reports you've pulled your gun, at least, twice on the RK800 unit, and have been physically aggressive towards him.”_

_She looked up at him, her gaze searching his._

_"Physically aggressive?" Gavin guffawed. "I punched him once, is that such a big deal?”_

_"Perhaps not on it’s own, but when you take into account the other incidents.”_

_Gavin looked past her at the painting on the wall, an abstract splodge of colour._

_“What does it matter now anyway? The tin can’s gone.”_

_"That isn't the point, Gavin.” The way she said his name made him feel like a fucking five year old. “After the success Cyberlife had with the Connor unit taking down the deviant leaders, the State Department has decided to commission a new model of android; a faster, stronger, more resilient model. It may be that you will have to work with one of these units in the future. I need to ascertain if you are capable of working cooperatively with an android.”_

_“And if you can’t ascertain that, doc?”_

_“I don’t know yet, Gavin.”_

03:27

He groaned and the noise woke up Rufus, he heard her meow and stretch, before padding up to him and pushing her face into his, nose to nose.

"Hey, mangy cat." he muttered softly and she purred again, pacing up and down his chest, kneeding her claws into his skin - who was it that said love wasn’t painful? He scratched her ear and under her chin.

_"Do you think your hostility towards androids might have something to do with your brother?”_

_And there it was._

_“It was only one android, Katerina.”_

_The stress on her name was the same as the one she put on his._

_“What about the incident with the AK300 model?”_

_“I was cleared of any wrongdoing in that case.”_

_“I know you were,”_

_They stared at each other across the desk._

_"Elijah did create them, the androids."_

_He leaned back in his chair._

_"You don't say, doc."_

_"I'd like to talk in a bit more detail about your relationship with your brother, Gavin."_

_As if they hadn’t discussed that exact same thing for almost every single one of his psych evaluations, since their sessions began._

04:47

Rufus was now curled into the crock of his arm, and he couldn't move, slowly feeling his fingers go numb. 

( **four** ) _he shoved and pushed at the door, putting all his weight behind it, but he couldn’t budge his brother, holding the door closed from the outside._

_“Eli, let me out. It’s too dark.”_

_He could feel the clothes hanging around him but he couldn’t see a thing._

_“Eli, please, I don’t like it.”_

_He pounded on the door, hearing the latch click shut and seeing the shadow of his brother move away from the wardrobe. The the darkness pressed in  around him and he backed up into the furthest corner, making himself as small as possible._

_“I locked the monster in there with you, Gav.” His brother whispered through the crack, and Gavin threw himself at the door._

_“Let me out, let me out.”_

_“I hope it eats you all up.”_

_“Mummy!” He shrieked._

_That made his brother back up, and he heard the floorboards creak by the bedroom door._

_“Eli! Mummy!”_

_But no one came._

( **seven** ) _they were sitting beside each other at the dining table, workbooks and  spelling sheets spread out around them._

_“You're so slow.” His brother moaned. “It isn’t even that hard. Look.”_

_Gavin turned his shoulder away from the neat lines of handwriting being waved under his nose._

_“We’re going to be here all day, dummy.”_

_“I’m not dumb.”_

_His brother sneered at him._

_“Dummy, dummy, dummy.”_

_“Shut up!” Gavin shouted and shoved him off the chair._

_“What’s going on in here?”_

_They both jumped as mum walked into the room._

_“I’ve finished my homework, mum, can I go and play?”_

_She looked at the workbook and then smiled and nodded:”Go on then.”_

_“And how’re you doing, little man?”_

_Gavin looked down at his workbook and his messy scrawl, following her frowning gaze. “You can do better, Gavin.”_

( **ten** ) _his lungs heaved and his legs burned but he kept running. They were gaining on him. His brother and his friends. A stone skimmed his head._

_“Get him! Get him!”_

_Gavin pushed himself to run faster, the lack of oxygen to his brain making it feel like he was running on air. They howled and laughed behind him._

_He wasn’t fast enough._

_His brother hurtled into him and he crashed to the ground, smashing his face into the concrete. He screamed, the explosion of pain blinding him. He tried to crawl away, to run again, but his brother had a hold on his jacket. Gavin spun onto his back and kicked out at him._

_“What happened to his face?”_

_They all backed up._

_Gavin reached up to his face, feeling something warm and sticky. His fingers came away bloody._

_“Eli?”_

_His brother just stared at him._

_“It isn’t my fault you're so clumsy.”_

_Gavin stared at the blood on his fingers, his sight beginning to blur. His brother continued to stare at him._

_“It wasn’t my fault.” He said again. “You better tell mum it wasn’t my fault.”_

_His friends drifted away, without saying anything. Gavin started to cry. His nose hurt so bad._

_His brother helped him stand up, an arm slung under his shoulders._

_They didn’t speak all the way home. Gavin sniffed up the blood and coughed and spat it out._

_“What happened?”_

_Mum sounded shocked._

_“He tripped.”_

_“Oh, Gavin” she went down on her knees in front of him, turning his head from side to side. “We’d better get you to the hospital. It looks broken. It might leave a scar, little man.”_

( **seventeen** ) _he closed the front door and listened to the sounds of laughter coming from the living room. His brother was home from university. Gavin headed straight for the stairs but before he made it more than a few steps, mum appeared in the doorway._

_“Gavin, come and look at this. It’s just wonderful.”_

_He couldn’t ignore her, no matter how much he wanted to._

_His brother was kneeling by the coffee table, talking to the thing on the glass._

_What the fuck?_

_“It’s a little robot.” Mum said._

_“An android, mum.”_

_Gavin stared at it; arms, legs, head, perfect proportions, shinny metal and plastic. It turned on the spot as directed by his brother. It bowed as directed by his mum._

_“Nice gimmick.”_

_His brother glared at him: “It’s the future.”_

_Gavin shrugged: “I’m going upstairs.”_

_“Oh, before I forget, some post came for you today. I think it’s from the police academy. I’ll go get it.” Mum left the room._

_“Police? You?” His brother said. “Well, I guess, we all need to work to our strengths.”_

_“What’s that meant to mean?”_

_His brother sneered at him._

_“All brawn, little brains.”_

_Gavin reached over and knocked his brothers little toy off the table. It clattered in the polished wood. His brother stood up, and even though his immediate reaction was to back away, he stood his ground._

_“You’re just jealous cause I’m actually going places, and you’re still living here, in mum’s house. I’ve been given a contract to make a full size prototype of one of these. I’m going to be a fucking billionaire, Gavin, and you’re always just going to scrambling around for pennies.”_

_Gavin stepped forward, putting his foot down deliberately on his brothers life’s work; something fizzed and popped and cracked._

_“Oops.”_

( **twenty two** ) _he pulled the squad car into the curb and killed the lights. The house on his left looked quiet, no obvious sign of any domestic disturbance._

_He straightened his uniform, checked that his gun and badge were in place and made his way to the front door. The intercom buzzed._

_“Yes?” The voice said._

_“You reported a disturbance, sir.” He tried not to sound bored._

_The door clicked and slid open. Gavin stepped in._

_“Hello?”_

_The lobby was empty._

_“Gavin?”_

_Fuck._

_He turned to face his brother._

_“Don’t look at me like that. I knew you wouldn’t come if I just invited you, and I wanted to show you this.”_

_“You’re wasting police time.”_

_“It won’t take long.”_

_His brother had that look in his eyes that made Gavin’s skin twitch._

_“Chloe, will you come here for a moment.”_

_Gavin watched as it walked into the room, a full size robot._

_“I did it.”_

_“I don’t care.”_

_“Isn’t she beautiful?”_

_“If a bunch of wires wrapped in plastic does it for you, Eli, who am I to judge.”_

_His brother laughed, and reached over to touch something behind its ear; there was a flicker and then skin appeared like a wave to cover the plastic beneath, blonde hair, blue eyes, absolutely naked._

_“And now?”_

_“It’s still a robot.”_

_“An android.”_

_Gavin shrugged: “I actually have work to do. Enjoy playing with your toy.”_

_His brother looked angry, before he covered it over with indifference._

_“My company will be rolling these out everywhere over the next few years. Soon you won’t be able to walk down the street without seeing one of my androids.“_

_“Great. I can’t wait.”_

_He turned back towards the front door._

_“Goodbye, Eli. I don’t want to see you ever again.”_

( **thirty six** ) _his phone rang._

_“Detective Reed.” He answered._

_“Have you met Connor yet?” His brother asked. “Taller, smarter, stronger and faster,” he paused before adding: “than you.”_

_“Go stick your head up your hole.”_

_Gavin hung up._

5:45

His alarm clock rang, lurching him out of uneasy dreams. Rufus was once again at the foot of the bed, stretched out at her full length, tummy just begging to be stroked.

She didn’t move when he got up, and he couldn’t honestly blame her. It was still dark outside and the heating hadn’t come on yet.

A quick shower and coffee to go.

“Nah, doc.” He said to no one, in the car, on his way to the precinct. “My issue with androids has fuck all to do with my brother.”


	2. The investigation begins

There were only a few officers milling around, and no one in the bullpen, so he pulled out his chair, and slumped down into it, reaching for his phone.

He’d seen an ad a few days ago, on one of those vintage sites, for a cat toy interactive butterfly thing, that just might stop Rufus from destroying the curtains; he skimmed through the search results, clocked the price tag, and moved on to ordering her more cat food instead.

“Reed,”

He jumped only slightly at the sound of his name being yelled across the otherwise silent room.

“Boss?”

“I’ve got a new case for you,”

Gavin glanced at the stack of new case files already in his tray and then at the stack of open case files he had on his desk: _Well_ , _who_ _needs_ _sleep_ _anyway_? _It_ _was_ _overrated_.

He stood up, slid his phone back into his pocket, and headed for Fowler’s office.

“We’ve has a request from the State Department.” Fowler began before he’d even had a chance to sit down. “Y’know, Connor?”

Gavin’s mind threw up a blank, before catching the right reference.

“The android?”

“Yeah,” Fowler nodded. “He’s gone missing. The State Department want us to find him. I’m putting you on the case.”

“You want me to find the android?” Gavin leaned forward in his chair, not entirely sure if he wanted to laugh at this joke being played at his expense, or lodge a complaint if Fowler turned out to be serious.

Fowler, obviously catching the skepticism in his voice, sighed.

“Most people here seemed to get along with Connor, they might be conflicted; I don’t have to worry about that with you.”

Gavin couldn’t argue with Fowler’s logic, so he leaned back in his chair, and folded his arms.

“This case supersedes all your others.”

He looked at Fowler again to check if he was being serious, but the expression on his face told Gavin all he needed to know.

“Right. Find the android. Top priority.”

 _Because_ _that’s_ _what_ _homicide_ _detectives_ _do_ , _right_? _They_ _don’t_ solve _homicides_. _They_ _chase_ _rogue_ _androids_   _around_ _town_.

Fowler turned back to the paperwork in front of him and Gavin, taking that as his cue to leave, stood up and left the office. Tina caught his eye from the rec room, raised a questioning eyebrow, and he put a finger gun to his forehead and mimicked pulling the trigger.

The data pack was already waiting in his emails, and he sat down, pulling himself as close into the desk as possible, before clicking on the link.

A slowly revolving image of “Connor” Model: RK800, Release date: 08-2038 appeared on his screen. He ran his gaze over the blurb on the right of the screen:

“Connor is a prototype, named RK800, created by CyberLife. It’s initial goal is to assist human detectives in their investigations ...” blah blah “...capable of integrating into any team ...” chuckle “...The Connor model includes a physical simulation software ...” yada yada “...the first model to offer the analysis of biological evidence ...”

 _Taller_ , _smarter_ , _stronger_ _and_ _faster_ , _than_ _you_.

Gavin hit the down key and watched as page after page after page of specification began to scroll past

“What’s with the user manual?” Tina asked over his shoulder, sliding a coffee cup onto his desk.

”RK800, aka “Connor”, gone awol, and guess who’s been assigned to locate it?” He leaned his head back and looked up at her and her eyes laughed back at him.

“It must be because of your, y’know, bromance.”

Gavin slit his eyes at her and lowered his head back to the screen.

“I should never have told you it said that to me.”

“I just wish I could’ve seen your face.”

She chuckled quietly as she wondered off, leaving him with a hot cup of coffee and a screen full of robotic mumbo-jumbo. He sighed and closed down the data pack, opening up the last known address tab instead. He expected it to be empty - after all, why would an android have an apartment? - but the information flashed up on the screen just as it would with anyone else.

It was as good enough a place to start as any, and it was within walking distance of the precinct. He regretted his decision to walk almost the moment he stepped outside. It was fucking freezing, and he yanked up his hood, and hunched his shoulders against the snow.

—

His fingers were still numb from the cold outside, and he blew on them, before reaching into his jacket and removing his gun from its holster. The door knob turned silently under hand and he stepped into the dimly lit hallway. If there were any androids home, he wanted at least to try for the element of surprise. A quick sweep of the living room, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and he found himself back by the front door, android-less.

Gavin strolled back through the living room and pulled open the curtains, letting in the fresh morning sunlight. Dust motes danced in front of his eyes, before settling back down to cover the papers on the table in front of him.Slowly, he sifted through the numerous journal articles with scientific titles he couldn’t even begin to decipher, noting how in many places words, paragraphs and sometimes whole sentences were circled in red. There were books everywhere, they lined the shelves along the walls, and from what Gavin could tell spanned every subject from astrophysics to the tiger that came to tea.

 _Why_ _the_ _fuck_ _did_ _a_ _fucking_ _android_ _need_ _so_ _many_ _fucking_ _books_?

The kitchen was empty, not a plate, knife or fork in sight; Gavin opened the fridge, and it was empty too. He expected he’d find the same in the bathroom.

There was a smudge of something blue on the door jamb of the bedroom, he hadn’t noticed it in the previously darkened apartment, but it sure was clear to see now. He instinctively reached to check for his gun, even though he knew the apartment was empty, and then stepped into the room.

The curtains were flapping in the breeze from the open window, and Gavin quickly stepped over to pull the window shut and open the curtains.

He should have thought after his initial sweep of the place that, considering how tidy the rest of the apartment was, something was up with the bedroom. Now, in the bright winter daylight, he could see the extent of the damage.

It seemed like every piece of furniture was smashing to shit, either having been used as some kind of weapon, or fallen on and shattered; there was a dent in one wall that looked suspiciously like a body had been thrown full force into it; and there was a fucking hole in another. Blue blood was everywhere.

Gavin saw a smear on the window ledge and walked over to peer down the fire escape; as suspected, there was a trail of blue blood leading all the way down to ground level.

 _Looks_ _like_ _someone_ _got_ _their_ _ass_ _handed_ _to_   _them_.

Walking back into the living room, he pulled out his phone and called it in: he wanted analysis run on all the blood found in the room. From what he could see, it was all blue, but he had to rule out any human involvement.

He was just about to leave the apartment when he spotted the edge something poking out from underneath the sofa. It was a moleskin notebook and, when he flipped it open, it was full from left to right, top to bottom with 1s and 0s.

Gavin sighed, tucked the notebook into his jeans pocket and headed back out into the cold, making a mental list of all people he could talk to about the missing android.

Hank, the most obvious source of information, who had been partnered with the android during the earlier part of the deviant investigation, was currently in ICU after putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger so Gavin had to strike him off the list.

So that left CyberLife.

—

The bullpen was blissfully warm, and once he had a mug of coffee in his hand, he started making calls.

At some point during the day Tina waved a carton of takeout chow mien under his nose, and he gratefully took it, thanking her silently, as he continued to try and get anywhere with CyberLife.

He’d been put on hold, transferred, hung up on, transferred a few more times, been held in the call queue for what felt like fucking hours, and all he’d got for his trouble was a big fat fuck all.

“RK800, I’m not familiar with that model, sir, do you have it’s serial number and I can look it up on the system. A prototype? Oh, no, I’m afraid we don’t deal with those, I’ll just transfer you to another department.”

“RK800, the prototype, yes, I’ve heard of it, but it’s not one of the models for general release, so I’m afraid that’s not my department.”

“Any information on the RK800 prototype, that isn’t already public knowledge, is classified. If you’d like to discuss this matter with our CEO, Elijah Kamski, I’d be happy to transfer you.”

“I’m sorry detective, but I’m not able to share that information with you. Would you like to speak with Elijah Kamski?”

“Elijah Kamski will be able to help you with that query, sir, should I transfer you?”

“Elijah Kamski,”

“Elijah Kamski.

“Elijah Kamski!”

Gavin slammed the phone down into it cradle, and then slammed it down a few more times for good measure.

“Alright, grumpy pants, it’s time to go home.” Tina was pulling on her jacket, heading back out on patrol. “I can give you a lift.”

“My car’s outside, I’m okay.”

“See you tomorrow then,”

He waved her goodnight, stood up and stretched out all the muscles in his back.

Home, shower, bed.

—

The moleskin notebook was on his dresser, where he’s left it the night before, after yanking it out of his jeans pocket. He’d downloaded one of those translator apps to his phone about a year ago and hadn’t used it since, but now was as good a time as any to see if it actually worked.

Rolling out of bed, he reached for his phone, picked up the notebook and headed into the kitchen to switch on the coffee machine.

Rufus twined herself around his ankles, meowing up at him, and he pulling out the box of cat food from the cupboard and filled up her bowl; she continued to purr loudly as she happily set into her breakfast. He watched her for a few moments longer, ran his hand down her glossy fur, scratched behind her ear and then grabbed his coffee and slumped down onto the sofa.

The TV came on, blaying the latest headlines, and he switched the volume down to a background hum.

 _Phone_ _meet_ _notebook_.

It was clunky, but it would do.

01010000 01001100 00110110 00110000 00110000 00101100 00100000 01000100 01100001 01101110 01101001 01100101 01101100 00101100 00100000 01100100 01101111 01101101 01100101 01110011 01110100 01101001 01100011 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 01110010 01101111 01101001 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01010000 01101000 01101001 01101100 01101100 01101001 01110000 01110011 00100000 01100110 01100001 01101101 01101001 01101100 01111001 00101110

Became:

 **PL600,** **Daniel,** **domestic** **android** **to** **the** **Phillips** **family**.

This was going to take a while.

He settled back against the cushions and it wasn’t long before Rufus came up to join him, sitting herself directly between him and the notebook. He raised the book and phone and continued to read over her head.

 **PL600** **on** **realizing** **that** **it** **was** **going** **to** **be** **replaced,** **felt** **betrayed** **and** **that** **it’s** **loyalty** **meant** **nothing** **to** **the** **family.** **In** **anger** **it** **killed** **John** **Phillips** **and** **took** **Emma** **Phillips** **hostage**.

Gavin noted that the words betrayed, loyalty and anger were all circled in red.

 **PL600** **is** **programmed** **to** **be** **loyal,** **this** **is** **a** **simulation** **of** **real** **emotion** **but** **is** **not** **real** **emotion.** **It** **is** **impossible** **for** **PL600** **to** **simulate** **an** **emotion** **it** **has** **not** **been** **programmed** **to** **exhibit.** **It must** **be** **surmised that** **PL600’s** **programming** **has** **become** **compromised.**

Gavin turned a few pages and continued to scan.

 **HK400,** **owned** **by** **Carlos** **Ortiz.**

 **HK400,** **out** **of** **fear** **for** **it’s** **own** **life,** **defended** **itself** **from** **attack** **with** **a** **kitchen** **knife.** **Overcome** **with** **rage** **from** **the** **abuse** **it** **had** **sustained** **over** **many** **years,** **HK400** **stabbed** **Carlos** **Ortiz** **28** **times**.

This time the words fear and rage were circled in red.

 **A** **machine,** **that** **is** **not** **alive,** **cannot** **fear** **death**.

Gavin really couldn’t agree more with these comments.

His phone beeped: 5:45.

It was time to get.

A quick shower, and a coffee to go.


	3. The investigation ends

The blood analysis was back from the lab, and he sat down at his desk and glanced down the columns. The majority of the blue blood found in the apartment was confirmed to belong to android: RK800, the rest belonged to android: Unknown.

The overlay of both blood types showed only a slight difference between the two.

Gavin put the file down and leaned back in his chair. If this was correct then it would seem that there was another android out there, almost identical to RK800, but not.

It told him something, sure, but absolutely nothing that could actually help him find RK800.

He’d already had two coffees that morning and he was buzzing with an energy he didn’t know what to do with. He skimmed through the information that had come in overnight, sightings that had turned out to be nothing, and then stood up.

There was no point sitting around in the precinct, twiddling his thumbs. He needed to clear his mind and focus, and there was only place he would ever go to at times like this.

Gavin pushed through the doors to the gun range, breathing in the smell of cordite. The booths were empty and he headed straight for his usual spot. The mufflers blocked out all sound, and he listened to his heartbeat for a few moments, before checking his clip and raising his gun.

The recoil hit his shoulder; his aim was off.

Gavin changed his position and shot again, one two three four five, and on, until he’d emptied the clip.

His phone trilled in his pocket and he put down the gun, took off the mufflers and pulled it out to see who was calling.

“Hey Lise,”

“Gavin, we’ve had a sighting of your android.”

“Yeah.”

“There was a break in at the CyberLife maintenance depot downtown.”

It was promising.

He thanked her and slid his phone back into his pocket, his gun back into it holster, and heading out to the carpark.

The depot was more like a chop shop, androids in various states of disrepair and damage, deactivated and inanimate, lifeless mannequins of metal.

This was nothing new to Gavin, he’d witnessed the development of androids from the basest AI programme; he knew this is what they all were under the fake skin and simulated emotion.

“Was anything taken?” Gavin asked.

“Only a few pouches of thirium. Nothing else. It’s weird. Usually when we get a break in, we get cleared out all the most valuable biocomponents.”

Gavin ran over what he remembered about blue blood. Androids needed it to run their biocomponents, if they ran low on it then their biocomponents would fail and it was lights out.

RK800 had lost a lot of blood, it made sense that the android would need to replace it.

“Do you have cameras out front?”

“Yeah, but they were deactivated.”

“Great. Thanks for your help.”

Gavin stepped back out into the rain and glanced left and right. The street was empty. RK800 could have gone anywhere from here. Once again, he had nothing.

Back at his desk, he pulled out the moleskin notebook and flicked through it. There was no way to know where he’d last read, it all looked exactly the same. As his only source of information, Gavin threw his feet up on the desk, rested back and settled in for the long read.

 **WR400,** **Traci,** **owned** **by** **the** **Eden** **Club.**

Gavin remembered this case; it’d initially been given to him before Anderson and the android and stolen it right out from under his nose.

 **On** **November** **6,** **2038,** **WR400** **was** **rented** **along** **with** **another** **Traci** **by** **Michael** **Graham.** **Graham** **was** **violent** **and** **broke** **the** **other** **Traci,** **making** **WR400** **fear** **and** **beg** **for** **it’s** **life.** **When** **Graham** **did** **not** **react,** **WR400** **strangled** **him** **to** **death.**

The words fear and beg were circled in red.

 **WR400** **professed** **love** **for** **a** **fellow** **Traci** **and** **chose** **to** **self** - **terminate** **rather** **than** **continue** **to** **be** **active** **without** **it.** **It** **is** **becoming** **clear** **to** **me** **that** **these** **deviants** **truly** **believe** **they** **are** **experiencing** **the** **emotions** **they** **are** **emulating,** **however** **unlikely** **that** **may** **be.**

Gavin flicked a few more pages, and paused. The writing looked different, less regimented, and it didn’t take him long to realise why.

 **What** **am** **I?** **What** **am** **I?** **What** **am** **I?** **What** **am** **I?** **What** **am** **I?** **What** **am** **I?** **What** **am** **I?** **What** **am** **I?** **What** **am** **I?** **What** **am** **I?** **What** **am** **I?** **What** **am** **I?** **What** **am** **I?** **What** **am** **I?** **What** **am** **I?** **What** **am** **I?** **What** **am** **I?** **What** **am** **I?**

Page after page of the same question, over and over again.

Gavin flicked faster through the pages.

 **I** **am** **Connor.** **I** **am** **Connor.** **I** **am** **Connor.** **I** **am** **Connor.** **I** **am** **Connor.** **I** **am** **Connor.** **I** **am** **Connor.** **I** **am** **Connor.** **I** **am** **Connor.** **I** **am** **Connor.** **I** **am** **Connor.** **I** **am** **Connor.** **I** **am** **Connor.**

The last few pages contained the same proclamation.

 **I** **am** **sorry.** **I** **am** **sorry.** **I** **am** **sorry.** **I** **am** **sorry.** **I** **am** **sorry.** **I** **am** **sorry.** **I** **am** **sorry.** **I** **am** **sorry.** **I** **am** **sorry.** **I** **am** **sorry.** **I** **am** **sorry.** **I** **am** **sorry.** **I** **am** **sorry.** **I** **am** **sorry.** **I** **am** **sorry**.

Gavin recognised an existential crisis when he saw one, and if RK800 had experienced one than it pointed to one possible thing. RK800 had gone deviant. And if that was true then it changed everything.

RK800 was damaged, alone and scared. No, Gavin thought, new emotions; RK800 would have been terrified. And scared things always went back to somewhere they felt safe.

Gavin knew that Anderson’s place had already been searched, but his instincts told him to go and check it out himself.

The house was dark, as was expected, what with Anderson being in the hospital. Gavin skirted the perimeter, gun in hand, the handle reassuringly snug in his palm. He passed by a window and a huge fucking beast of a dog threw itself at the glass, barking and snarling, drool flecking the glass. Gavin jumped back a foot, his heart pounding in his throat.

“Fuck me.”

There was a noise round back and he took off round the side of the house, skidding to a halt in the garden, watching as RK800 sprinted across grass, headed for the trees at the back.

Gavin raised his gun, took aim and fired.

The bullet clipped the android’s shoulder, but it didn’t slow RK800 down at all. Gavin raised his gun, took aim again, but the fucker was fast, too fast.

“Fuck.”

RK800 disappeared into the trees.

“Fuck.” Gavin said and lowered gun. The dog was now barking and growling at the back door, throwing it’s weight against the wood.

Gavin backed up, stared at the door and then towards the trees. He shook his head and made his way back to his car.

“Whoever did the search on Anderson’s house did a fucking bang up job. The fucking android was here.”

He wasn’t angry at the officers that had done the original search, he was angry with himself for letting RK800 get away. He slid behind the wheel of the car and stared out the windscreen.

If RK800 had been sentimental enough to come back here to Anderson’s house, then it was likely RK800 had also been to the hospital. Perhaps Gavin could use that to his advantage.

Gavin started the car and headed towards the hospital.

Anderson was laying in the bed, tubes in his arm, up his nose, the machines beeping to the steady beat of his heart. Gavin stood, uneasily, looking down at him. Gavin’d always thought that if he was ever going to shot himself he’d put the gun in his mouth and blow the top of his head off. Now, he wasn’t so sure. It seemed not even a bullet was guaranteed to do the job right.

“Are you family?” A voice asked from behind him and he turned to look at the nurse and shook his head.

“I work with him. Has he had many visitors?”

“Mostly DPD.”

That wasn’t too surprising. Anderson was well liked in the precinct. Gavin took out his phone and pulled up an image of RK800, just on the off chance.

“Have you seen this guy here?”

She looked at the photo for a long few moments and then shook her head.

“We’re going to be moving Hank soon,”

“Where’re you moving him too?”

“The good news is, he’s no longer in a critical condition. He’s shown some very promising periods of lucidity. The doctors think he’ll be okay on the general medical ward.”

“That is good news.” Gavin agreed.

Anderson had been in this room, hooked up to these machines, for the last month, or so; no one would expect him to be moved, unless he was dead.

Gavin placed another call to the precinct.

“Bad news, about Hank.” He said. “His condition’s declined, they don’t expect him to make it through the night. Let people know that if they want to say goodbye, they’d better get round here fast.”

He knew that the news would travel fast, and if he was correct, the information would soon reach RK800.

Gavin settled down in the chair next to the bed, and waited. Half an hour later, Anderson was transferred to another room, on another ward, and he still waited.

Over the next five hours, he fielded several DPD officers, laughing, apologising that he’d got it wrong; Hank had actually been transferred to general medical, he was AOK and they could just go on ahead and visit with him.

He was starting to think he’d got it all wrong, when a shadow fell across the doorway. Gavin tightened his grip on his gun.

RK800 stepped into the room, taking a few steps towards the empty bed, the yellow light from the LED glowing bright in the otherwise dark room.

Gavin moved forward and pressed his gun to RK800’s head.

“Got you.”


	4. The other android

It was no wonder they had people fooled, especially when they looked and acted so human. Gavin, himself, had been fooled once or twice in the past, thinking that the victim had been human, only to find out later that they’d been a fake. They were made to integrate, to become part of a family or, in the case of RK800, to become one of the team. 

RK800 certainly looked human, standing there by the bed, staring down at the empty sheets.

“Where’s Hank?”

“Don’t stress yourself.” Gavin said as the room was suddenly lit by the red glow from RK800’s LED. “He’s fine.”

Gavin noted the minute relaxation in the shoulders, as if RK800 had just released a held breath, and then he tensed as RK800’s fingers clenched into tight angry fists.

“You lied. You lied to get me here.”

The last time Gavin had been this close to the android, it hadn’t ended too well for him, but the last time he had lost his temper. This time he wouldn’t. His grip was steady on his gun as he continued to press it to RK800’s head. 

“Yes. I did.”

Gavin knew the number of human lives RK800 had taken during the android revolution, he knew the android was capable of killing him, and he’d be lying if he said the knowledge didn’t scare him.

RK800 turned around and the light from the corridor fell across the android’s face, letting Gavin see the deep gashes on the forehead and jaw, and the places where the synthetic skin no longer covered the white underneath. He’d known that RK800 had lost the fight at apartment but seeing the extent of the damage perpetrated on RK800, still unnerved him. Gavin had no desire to meet the android, that had kicked the ass of the android, that had kicked his. 

“Why are you here, Detective?”

“My orders are to bring you in.”

RK800 huffed, and Gavin didn’t like how much it sounded like a laugh.

“I’m not going back to CyberLife.”

“Who said anything about CyberLife? My orders come from the State Department.”

At any other time Gavin probably would have found it amusing to watch the ‘what the fuck’ face switch almost instantly to an ‘oh fuck’ face, but at that particular moment he was distracted by the flicker a light glinting in his eyes. 

He heard the ping of the bullet cutting through the glass just before the window exploded inwards, and he lunged to the side a fraction of a second before the bullet sped passed his left ear and imbedded itself in the wall behind him. Gavin flung himself down behind the patient monitor, avoiding the roving sight of the sniper rifle as it swung around to seek him out again.

“You led him right to me.” 

_What the actual fuck?_

Gavin tried to peer up over the monitor to see who was shooting at him but another bullet narrowly missed his head and he ducked back down under cover. RK800 was pressed against the wall by the window and Gavin watched as the android quickly assessed the situation.

“We need to get out of here. Now.” 

The urgency in RK800’s voice got Gavin moving, and he just made it out the door before the bullets from an automatic sprayed the room behind him. It wasn’t the first time Gavin had been shot at, it wasn’t even his first time he’d been shot at with an automatic, and those memories crept insidiously into his mind. In an instant he was back in the house, in Corktown, the bullets tearing through the walls from all directions, the furniture splintering and sending shards of wood and glass spinning like missiles around the room, the screaming and the blood splattering the walls and ceiling and floor.

“Detective Reed?”

But they hadn’t know he was a cop.

“Detective Reed!”

And he was back in the present.

The sudden silence was deafening after the noise of the bullets ricocheting around the hospital room, and in the silence Gavin heard the smash and crunch of boots on glass.

“Keep running. I’ll try and slow him down.”

It was a dead end corridor.

Gavin skid to a halt in front of the third floor window and stared down at the parking lot below. There was nowhere to go. He pulled out the clip on his gun and quickly counted his remaining bullets. One. Two. Three. 

“Fuck.”

RK800 rounded the corner at speed, looked at him, looked at the window, glanced behind, and then lowered a shoulder and ran faster.

_Oh fuck!_

The android collided with him and they both crashed through the window, the glass cutting at his skin and the wind biting at his face as they plummeted towards the ground. RK800 caught onto him and pulled him in close, turning them in midair, so that when they did hit the ground, Gavin was protected from the worst of the fall by the metal chassis of the android’s body. The air was forced out of his lungs and for a moment he couldn’t breathe.

Gavin staggered to his feet and looked back up. It was dark in the parking lot but he could see the other android silhouetted in the light from the window above, and the fucker looked almost exactly like RK800. His heart pounding in his ears, Gavin pulled out his gun and shot his last remaining bullets up at the android. They bounced off like they were nothing at all, and the android looked at him with an almost clinical disinterest before dropping the automatic and pulling out a semi.

Gavin turning back to RK800, who was at that moment struggling to get up, LED cycling white. They needed to get out of there, and fast. Gavin slung an arm under the android’s shoulder, and lifted. The thing was far heavier than it looked and Gavin stumbled under the weight, as he pulled RK800 towards the safety of a nearby parked ambulance. Bullets rained down on the roof and Gavin flattened himself as far as possible against the side of the vehicle. RK800 was still unresponsive, LED cycling what Gavin dubbed the ‘oh shit, I shouldn’t have done that’ white, and they weren’t going anywhere until the android snapped out of it. 

It went quiet, the darkness closed in around them again, and Gavin didn’t like. He didn’t like not knowing where the enemy was, or when they might strike again. If it was only him, he would have been able to make his escape, but he’d be damned if he was going to leave RK800 behind. He’d caught the android, fair and square, and he was going to hand it into the State Department, as ordered. 

But, now, it wasn’t quite as simple as that. 

Now, there was an unexpected element, and that unexpected element wanted him, as well as RK800, dead. Gavin’s mind span, trying to make sense of the situation. He remembered what Katerina had told him, that, on the back of RK800’s success, the State Department had commissioned 500,000 advanced android models from CyberLife. Was this other android one of those? Based on RK800 but faster, stronger and more resilient. 

Gavin looked at the android beside him, once again taking in the damage to RK800’s face, but this time also noticing the blue blood soaked into the white of the shirt, and the bullet hole through the shoulder of the jacket, from where Gavin had clipped it earlier. 

RK800 was a mess, a damaged and now, potentially, obsolete mess. CyberLife wanted the android dead, and the State Department wanted it alive - if those were even the correct words to use for something that wasn’t even real.

Gavin’s gaze snapped to the LED as it spun from white to blue and then quickly spiralled up to red. 

“Where’s RK900?”

_RK900? That was original of CyberLife._

“Probably on it’s way to try and kill us some more. Can you move?”

RK800’s LED flickered as the android ran some kind of diagnostic and then settled as the android stood up beside him.

“Yes. We should go now.”

“You think?” Gavin spat back.

At that moment the service door crashed open and RK900 barrelled out into the parking lot, heading straight for them. RK800 yanked open the door to the ambulance and jumped into the cab, Gavin following suit. More bullets hit the vehicle as RK800 interfaced with the control panel and the ambulance sparked into life.

“Can you drive?” The android asked, turning to him with an almost panicked expression.

_The fuck?_

“Move.” Gavin barked and they scrambled over each other, Gavin moving over and RK800 ducking under, to change seats. They really didn’t have time for this! RK900 was practically on top of them when Gavin slammed his foot down on the accelerator and they tore off, throwing up a cloud of dust behind them.

RK900 took chase.

Gavin watched in the rearview mirror as the android kept pace with the ambulance, and for a long few moments he feared that it would gain on them, but when he hit the road, and the sirens blared on, when other cars swerved out of the way to let them pass and then swerved back into lane again, it didn’t take long for RK900 to fall behind. 

He didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but he was sure that RK900 continued to hold his gaze until they were out of range.


	5. In the ambulance

Gavin kept his foot on the accelerator, but killed the sirens, the ambulance coasting along between the puddles of light and dark cast by the street lamps. RK800 remained silent beside him, until it became clear where they were headed.

“Where are we going?” 

“The precinct.” Gavin answered as if it was obvious to both of them.

RK800 turned to look at him and even in his peripheral and in the dimness of the cab, he could see the concern written on the android’s face.

“No, we can’t.”

Gavin didn’t slow down, keeping his gaze firmly on the road ahead.

“My orders are simple: find you, bring you in, hand you over to the State Department. I’ve found you, now I’m gonna hand you in. After that, it’s not my problem.”

RK800 continued to stare at him.

“It is your problem. In case it’s slipped your mind, RK900 is trying to kill you too.”

“It’s after you,” Gavin countered. “I just got in the way.”

“I wish it was that simple, Detective. You should never have found me, but now you have, and now you know, RK900 will not stop until you are dead.”

Gavin felt his palms begin to sweat on the steering wheel.

“The more people that know I’m a deviant, the more people we put in danger. You’ve seen RK900. Do you think he’ll hesitate? He will kill anyone and everyone to accomplish his mission.”

_Just like you_ ,  Gavin thought,  _the pot calling the kettle black._

“Detective, please be reasonable. We can’t go to the precinct.”

And now the fucking bundle of wires, and blue blood, wrapped up in metal and silicon, was calling him unreasonable, and treating him like one of it’s suspects. He’d seen it use these exact same negotiation tactics in the interrogation room, but the worse part was, the android was probably right. 

Gavin felt his anger rise and battled to push it back down, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.

“Detective,”

“Do you have a silent mode?” Gavin snapped. “How about you go into silent mode?”

“Detective Reed, I‘m sorry you’ve been dragged into this. I tried to stay hidden. I didn’t expect you to be so resourceful.”

“Well, surprise, fucker.” Gavin growled. “I am actually good at my fucking job.”

“I didn’t mean to imply that you weren’t.”

Gavin turned his head slightly to glare at the android, and RK800 fell silent.

At least he now understood why CyberLife wanted the android dead, and the State Department wanted it alive. CyberLife stood to loose a multimillion dollar deal, if the State Department learned that the incorruptible RK800, was actually corruptible after all. If the deviant hunter could turn deviant, then it was possible for any and all subsequent androids to become deviant, including RK900. 

“How did you know I’d come - to the hospital - for Hank? How did know I’d become -“ RK800 paused as if trying to decide on the right word.

“Deviant?” Gavin finished. “I read your notebook.”

The lines and then pages of ‘I am sorry’ suddenly scrolled up in his mind. 

“My notebook. I see.”

Gavin slowed the ambulance and pulled into a quiet lay-by. He slid his phone out of his pocket and penned a quick message to Tina.

“ _Do me a favour. der ’s a notebook in my top drawer. It’s fulla 1s n 0s. cn u send it 2da st8 Department 4 me? Fowler shd hv da deets. tx, T._ ”

At least, if nothing else, the State Department should be able to put things together the same way he had. RK800 was watching him, and it made his skin crawl.

“ _o n feed Rufus 4 me. da key’s in da usual place_ .”

“We need to get rid of the ambulance. RK900 will have logged the licence number, and will be searching for us as we speak.”

_Fucking great!_

“What if we split up?”

“ I wouldn’t advise it. Your chances of survival are far lower if we separate. It is safer for you to remain with me.”

Once again, Gavin hated that the android was probably right.

“What do you care?”

“I don’t want your death on my conscience too.” RK800 replied, quietly, while looking out the window.

“You don’t have a conscience. You’re a fucking robot.”

“I’m an android.”

_For fuck sake._

“ And I have guilt. I have dreams. Nightmares. About the things I’ve done.”

“ They’re not dreams. They’re fucking memory files. Your programme is corrupted.”

“You’re wrong.”

“ Am I though?” Gavin asked, finally letting his anger spill over with malicious intent. “You said yourself that deviants were just emulating emotion. You said their programmes were compromised. You said that even though they “believe” that the emotions they are experiencing are real, it’s highly unlikely they are. You said that a machine is not alive.”

Gavin watched the look on RK800 face as he used it’s own written word against it, and had to admit that he rather enjoyed watching the android squirm.

“I was wrong.”

“ I don’t think you were. I think everything you said was right.”

“No. I do feel emotion. It is real.”

“Prove it.” Gavin stated, more aggressive than he’d intended.

“How can possibly prove to you that what I feel is real?” The android asked, exasperated.

Gavin shrugged. 

RK800 turned to stare out the window again, and Gavin looked at the androids reflection in the glass for a moment longer, before turning away himself. 


	6. The motel

Gavin didn’t know what to do with the android, aside from taking it directly to the State Department himself. Then it would be down to CyberLife to explain why one of their bots was trying to murder everyone.

The motel room was dingy and had obviously seen better days; there was an out of order sign on the TV. Gavin had thought about maybe handcuffing RK800 to something so that it couldn’t run off again, but the android showed no sign of going anywhere.

Gavin sat on the end of the bed and ran his hand over his face and up into his hair. He was tired and he didn’t know what to do.

“Don’t go anywhere.” He said as he stood up and headed into the bathroom; a shower would fix things a little.

“I won’t, Detective.”

Gavin locked the door behind him, relieved to put some space between him and RK800. He didn’t trust the android as far as he could throw it, and considering how heavy it was, that wouldn’t have been very far at all. Gavin still remembered the shocked silence in the precinct the day after the android revolution had been crushed, and they had found not only the body of Hank Anderson, in a critical condition, on his kitchen floor, but also the bodies of the SWAT team that had been sent to apprehend RK800. Allen has been a good Officer, a pain in the ass, sure, but he knew how to do his job. His team was trained to take out all the most dangerous criminals, but they might as well have been matchsticks the way RK800 had snapped their necks. 

The water was lukewarm, but it felt better than the grime that had settled on his body. The cuts on his skin from the  window they’d smashed through stung as the water cascaded over him, reminding him that if RK800 had wanted him dead than it could have just let Gavin smash into concrete of the parking lot, instead of cocooning him in the safety of its body. 

Deviant. 

RK800 said that it had nightmares about the things it had done. The other deviant androids it had ‘killed’, Hank Anderson, the SWAT team, the leaders of the android revolution. Gavin had blood on his hands too, he knew the weight of the guilt, even though the lives he’d taken had been in the line of duty, not taken in cold blood. He shook the water out of his eyes and chastised himself for giving the android human motivations. RK800 hadn’t killed in cold blood, it had just been following its programme. A programme that was now compromised by some kind of virus, making the android emulate emotions that weren’t real, no matter how much it might have believed they were. 

RK800 was still sitting in the chair by the window, looking out over the parking lot, when he stepped back into the main room.

“You should get some sleep, Detective. It’s late.”

Gavin looked at the back of the android’s for a moment, biting back a response. He threw himself down on the bed and pulled out his phone.

“ _Gav, ?u@? der was some kinda situation @ da hospital. ryok_ _?_ ”

“ _ I found da android .  Things got weird. _ ”

Gavin glanced at RK800, unmoving, by the window.

“ _Connor? Is he k? Weird how_ ?”

Connor. 

“ _cn ’t explain rn_. ”

The less Tina knew the better, especially if RK800 was correct about RK900 killing anyone that found out the secret CyberLife so desperately wanted to keep hidden.

“ _Asshole_ .”

Gavin smiled.

“Are you hungry, Detective? I could get you a coffee.”

“Why the fuck would you do that?”

Gavin tucked his phone away, and turned his full attention back to the android. RK800 looked confused, as if it didn’t really understand why it had offered.

“If I want something, I’ll get it myself.”

“Yes, Detective.”

Gavin felt the muscles in his shoulders begin to tense. All this android had to do was talk to him and it got his back up. RK800 was exactly what Eli had created it to be. The perfect fucking negotiator. The perfect fucking interrogator. The perfect fucking walking talking crime lab, with it’s real time analysis and preconstructions. RK800 was everything Gavin wasn’t, sitting placidly by the window, with it’s Yes Detective, No, Detective, You should get some fucking sleep, Detective. The more time he spent with the thing, the more he wished he still had bullets in his gun, so he could rid himself of the android, once and for all. And this time, he wouldn’t miss. 

Gavin wanted to break through that perfectly composed exterior, to once again see that fragility he’d glimpsed in the cab of the ambulance. 

He stood up and moved passed the beds, stopping to lean against the table nearby where RK800 was sitting.

“I have question for you?”

The android turned it’s head to look at him.

“What was it like to kill those Officers in Hart Plaza? What did it ‘feel’ like?”

RK800 flinched away from him as if he’d hit it. Gavin frowned.

“Did you see the fear in their eyes?” Gavin continued, lowering his voice to an almost conspiratorial whisper. “Did you see the fear in their eyes as you snapped their fucking necks? You shot Allen in the fucking head, while he was on his fucking knees in front of you!”

Things moved quickly. 

The table flipped over as RK800 stood up, and he was grabbed by the front of his shirt, and shaken like a fucking rag doll.

“Shut. Up!” 

The android’s face was so close to his that he could see the raw emotion, the pain, the fear, the confusion, the hate, and it looked so real that it took his breath away. 

They stared at each other for a long silent few heartbeats and then RK800 let go of him and stepped away.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have - “ it didn’t finish the sentence, but turned and went into the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind it.

Gavin had wanted to get a reaction but he hadn’t expected it to be so fucking real. He sat down heavily on the edge of the bed and covered his eyes with his hand. 


	7. The motorcycle

_The smells of cordite, blood, fire and death, are what filled the gap once the bullets stopped flying._

_His ears were ringing._

_They were kicking at the bullet-riddled front door._

_The wood started to splinter._

_He scrambled to his feet, stumbling over someone’s legs, as he made a dash for the backdoor._

_They were at the backdoor._

_Gavin slid to a halt, twisted and headed for the stairs instead._

_Something hit him out of nowhere._

_The pain seared across his abdomen._

_He staggered back, doubled over._

_They were on him in an instant._

_Punching._

_Kicking._

_His head._

_His body._

_Gavin curled into a ball, trying to protect his face._

_His arms were grabbed._

_He was forced on his knees._

_Blood in his eyes_

_Blood in his mouth._

_A gun was pressed to his head._

“Detective Reed?”

He lurched out sleep, heart pounding and blood rushing in his ears, totally and completely confused. 

This wasn’t the house in Corktown. 

His eyes slowly focused on the android hovering above of him, looking down at him in concern.

“Are you okay, Detective?”

“Never fucking better,” he growled, his mind clearing enough for him to remember exactly where he was and why he was there.

“Your heart rate has increased, and your breathing is fast. The goose bumps have raised on your skin. You are showing all the signs of a typical fear response.”

Gavin sat up and pushed RK800 away from him. If the fucking thing tried to hug him now, he’d throw his fucking gun at it. 

“And you’re showing all the typical signs of being a clueless fucking machine.”

RK800 moved away to stand by the end of the bed.

“I was concerned that something was wrong.”

“Something is wrong.” Gavin snapped. “I’m stuck here with you. That’s what’s fucking wrong.”

He was angry, but mostly at himself for falling asleep in the first place. He should have known the nightmares would start again, especially after the sound and light show in the hospital earlier. 

Gavin fumbled with the covers and stood up, heading for the bathroom. It was then that he heard the splinting of wood and the raised voices, shouting from further along the parking lot. 

“He’s found us.”

Gavin stared at the android, and the android stared back at him. 

_Fuck_ .

RK800 strode towards the interconnecting door, and with little, to no effort, opened the locked door. Gavin grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair and followed. The couple in the next room, sat up bleary eyed, and scared by the intrusion.

“Terribly sorry.” RK800 said, using it’s calm voice. “We’re on police business. Just passing through.”

Gavin flashed his badge at them, as the android moved on to open the next locked door. They made quick progress but Gavin was still all too aware that the shouts from the rooms RK900 was searching were getting closer.

There was a dumbass in the next room, and he pulled a gun on them. 

“Put it down.” Gavin warned as he removed his own firearm from its holster and pointed it back at the man. “You don’t wanna start trouble with the DPD, do you?”

The man saw the badge on Gavin’s hip, and wavered, neither putting down his gun, or firing it. Gavin kept his gun trailed on the dumbass until they stepped out of the room. 

There were two more rooms before they reached they end, both empty.

“Are you ready?”

Gavin nodded. 

The front door to the room was opened and RK800 disappeared out into the dimly lit parking lot. Gavin glanced back the way they’d come, before ducking out himself. There were three cars in their immediate vicinity, and one motorcycle. 

Gavin headed for the motorcycle. 

“Detective, what are you doing?” 

“Just keep an eye out for your evil twin, and shut the fuck up.”

Gavin‘d picked up a few tricks while undercover, and how to hotwire a vehicle was one of them. The motorcycle roared into life at the same moment that a gun was fired in the motel.

RK800 began to run back the way they’d come.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“I can’t let him kill innocent people.”

Gavin couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“That was the fucking peashooter from the dumbass in room three, you dumbass. Stop being a fucking hero, and get on the fucking motorcycle.”

RK800 looked unsure, hesitating between going back and doing as Gavin said; and if it chose to stay, Gavin was leaving without it. The decision was made when RK900 stepped through the doorway opposite them and raised it’s gun. RK800 leapt onto the back of the motorcycle, and clung on to him as he hit the accelerator.

Once again, RK900 took chase.

Gavin was good with motorcycles, he’d had one since he was old enough to get a licence, but he wasn’t used to driving with a passenger, and the extra weight threw off the balance. Not to mention the distraction of having a body pressed against his back, holding tightly on to him.

Gavin increased speed.

RK900 kept pace with them.

The fucking thing was fast, far faster than RK800, and RK800 had left Gavin in the dust. There was little traffic on the roads, and he let her rip, feeling both the engine roar beneath him, and the android behind him, grip on tighter and tuck it’s head down into Gavin’s shoulder. 

He went straight through one, two, three, four, five red lights in quick succession, hoping no poor beat cop tried to give chase. 

RK900 came out of nowhere, from the left, and Gavin swerved and turned, knee to ground, ignoring the rip and burn of the gravel biting into his skin, as he turned the motorcycle and sped off down the nearest alley.

“How the fuck do we lose this thing?”

“We don’t.”

Gavin knew this part of town, he’d grown up not far from here, but his mind threw up nothing, as he tried to think up escape routes. And a quick glance at the clock projection on the dash explained why. It was 5:12 in the morning and he’d had less than an hours sleep in the last twenty four hours.

“Where is it?”

As if in answer to his question, RK900 appeared above them, a dark shape against the dawning sky, running at speed along the flat roof of the apartment building, easily keeping pace with the motorcycle. 

Gavin leaned into the engine trying to push the motorcycle to go just a little bit faster, but it wasn’t enough. RK900 leapt down from the fire escape moments before they would have been home-free, blocking their way out. 

Gavin pulled the motorcycle to a stop with a screech of tires on asphalt, the forward momentum crushing RK800 even tighter against him.

RK900 stood with it’s back to the brightening sky, but Gavin was still certain the android was staring straight at him and his suspicions were confirmed when it turned slightly into the light and then cocked it’s head at him, mocking him in the same way RK800 had so often done in the past. 

_Sonovabitch!_

Gavin’s anger sparked and crackled, and his desire to permanently wipe that expression off the androids face almost overshadowed the idea that suddenly sprang into his mind. He glanced again at the clock projection on the dash - 5:17 - and then revved the engine, letting the motorcycle jerk forward, throwing down the challenge. 

The android spread it’s arms wide, and then slowly stepped backward until it was standing on the sidewalk at the far side of the road, both accepting the challenge and giving itself a longer running start.

“What are you doing?” There was an edge of incredulous fear in RK800s voice, and Gavin didn’t try to suppress the grin that crept over his lips. “You can’t play chicken with him, Detective. He will walk away from such a collision without so much as a scratch. We, on the other hand, won’t fair as well.”

“Trust me.” Gavin quipped, revving the engine again. RK800 laughed, Gavin felt it before he heard it, a quiver that began down near his lower back and moved up to his shoulders. The burst of expelled air near his ear made him shiver. 

RK900 beckoned to him.

_C’mon human, or are you scared?_

“Gavin, don’t do this.”

Gavin’s gaze once again darted to the clock projection and he narrowed his eyes, sending up a quick prayer, before releasing his grip on the brake. As the motorcycle shot forward, RK900 ducked it’s head and ran to meet them. 

The collision happened almost the instant RK900 ran into the road. There was the squeal of tires and then the grinding grating scrap of metal on metal. The bus was slow to stop and it took RK900 with it. 

“What just happened?!” RK800 shoutedover the noise, as Gavin swerved around the back of the bus and slammed his foot down on the accelerator.

Gavin’d seen the shock on RK900’s face a fraction of a second before the bus hit and, he had to admit, it gave him more than just a little satisfaction. 

It was the 5:21 eastbound. 

Right on time. 

“I told you to trust me.” He yelled back over his shoulder. “Maybe, next time, you’ll listen.” 

It was a good few miles distance before Gavin deemed it safe to stop, guiding the motorcycle down a ramp and into an underground parking garage. RK800 jumped off the back before the engine had even died.

“You knew that bus would be there.”

It was a statement, not a question, and Gavin just nodded in response, as he kicked down the stand and got off the motorcycle. 

RK800 stared at him, and he stared back.

“Maybe, next time, I will trust you.”


End file.
